A number of different magnetic storage units have been in the market place to meet the increasing demands for peripheral storage equipment. At the present time, such units fall generally into two different classes, namely, units of low cost and relatively low storage capacity and units of higher cost and relatively large storage capacity. For instance, a low cost unit includes a single floppy disk and provides about one megabyte of storage capacity, the cost being about $600.--OEM. Such a unit is relatively small size, such as about 8 to 9 inches in width. Contrasted to this is the higher cost unit which is of rack size having a width of about 19 inches while providing a storage capacity of from 5 to 10 megabytes. A unit of this type typically sells for about $2,500.00 to $5,000.--OEM. At present, there are no small size magnetic storage units having a price which falls between the two extremes mentioned above and which provides a relatively large storage capacity, such as the rack sized unit mentioned above.
To compete with the above units in the market place while providing a relatively large magnetic storage capacity, a magnetic storage unit must not only be relatively low in price and small in size, but it must also be highly reliable and have high performance operating characteristics. The smaller the size of such unit the lower will be its production costs and thereby its sales price because of the fewer component parts needed to produce it. Because of the increased demand for high storage capacity, a need has arisen for a magnetic storage unit which meets these criteria as to provide a highly more versatile instrument for a wide variety of applications in the computer and other electronic disciplines.